The subject of these workshops is "How to learn and use the skills," that create quantum leaps in production.

These workshops translate some of the fundamental knowledge of modern behavioral science into specific and practical strategies for maximum prospecting and sales performance. A significant theme of each of these workshops is, we are active participants in our individual dilemmas. Performance problems are not just things that happen to us - they are complex experiences over which we have at least practical control.

These workshops are unique in several respects. First, to my knowledge these workshops are not offered in any other current book or seminar. This makes them different, but, of course, may not say much about their value. For the average consumer of self-help books, it is difficult to evaluate the wild claims of effectiveness made by each and every author. A second unique characteristic of these workshops is that it does not contain such claims. It offers no extravagant promises of miraculous personality changes in less than 30 days. My personal and professional commitment is in helping, not selling, and the process outlined here is hardly a panacea for all human distress. It is, however, an accurate reflection of some of the most effective psychological strategies used by today's behavioral therapists.

Maximum Performance

Maximum performance is not something that is achieved without effort, patience, and a minimum of discomfort. These may not seem like welcome or encouraging revelations in the foreword of a workshop on self-change. They are not meant to be discouraging. I am continually impressed with people's capacity to make dramatic change s in their lives, sometimes after years of underachieving. My point is simply that self-change is seldom an easy or rapid achievement. It is, to be sure, richly gratifying, but it has its price: persistence, a willingness to try, and an openness to learning some new psychological skills. These programs are not designed for people who are looking for an effortless way to improve.

Self-sabotage?

We are all sensitive creatures. We have a nervous system which uses pain as a signal of danger and a cue for coping. Those of us who have survived our childhood have learned to avoid sharp objects, fires, speeding cars, rejection, failure, looking foolish and even success. But many of us have become oversensitive - that is, we may be overestimating the likelihood or intensity of a threat to our well-being. We must be sensitive to survive, but sensitivity has both assets and liabilities. It allows us to adapt - to learn survival patterns - to avoid, to escape and to run from those activities that are creating threats to our emotional system.

Our memories make it possible for us to relieve past sufferings over and over again as well as our ability to anticipate pain. We may exaggerate the dangers which lie ahead or may lose sight of the fact that they can be avoided or counter balanced by future pleasures.

Change

There are dozens of "self-improvement" books, seminars and workshop on the market which can loosely be grouped into a category called "self-improvement." Some are specific in both their promise and others are general. They may guarantee to change your attitude, win friends, or become rich. Others lean toward a more general promise of improved awareness. Many contain dramatic testimonials which illustrate how they changed a person's entire life. Their change strategies range from very specific exercises to rambling sermons on self-awareness.

Unfortunately, the vast majority cannot claim scientific evidence to validate themselves. This is rarely conceded by their authors, of course, who may be wildly enthusiastic about the miraculous powers of their pet therapy. But how are you supposed to know which techniques have been scientifically validated and which are the pet theories of some arm chair guru? Most people are at a total loss to decide which approach is best suited to them. As it stands you can't go by the title or by the claims of the authors. However, testimonials have never and will never be considered scientific research.

Validated Techniques

Unlike the majority of training programs, I will not promise you that you will attain a permanent state of success and happiness. Performance problems are inevitable. No one can totally escape them, but we can all learn skills which will help us reduce the damage they do to our production.

A second point of departure between Hemsley's workshop are his beliefs that maximizing one's performance takes effort and skill. This effort and skill are not beyond your reach, however, and you need not possess exceptional intelligence or willpower to develop them. Hemsley's theory is that change requires persistence, effort and a willingness to act. There are no miraculous keys to increased performance.

A third difference between these workshops and others is the extent of scientific backing. In contrast to the majority of today's self-help guides, these workshops contain techniques that have survived more than 20 double blind studies. What's more, many of the groups tested were stock brokers!

The fourth difference is we are essentially revealing some of the most respected professional strategies in the field. The techniques and steps outlined here are basically those used by many of the nations behavioral psychologists.

Self-doubts

There is a growing consensus among professionals that many people "talk themselves into underachievement." That is, they start off with a deep-seated pessimism and the expectancy that their struggle is a futile one. This expectancy can often operate as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

By the time we become adults we are not only well trained self-critics, but we may also have come to believe that our negative self-evaluations are true. All too often, the "false modesty" encouraged in childhood may turn into unwarranted self-doubts in later life.

Active Change

Hemsley's approach to maximizing one's performance does not demand blind faith or wild enthusiasm. But it does require your active participation and involvement. If you are convinced that it cannot help, it probably will not. This is not to say that your belief is its primary source of power. Rather, I am emphasizing that your beliefs may prevent you from giving yourself a chance to change.

No Miracle Cures

Hemsley promises no miracles from the approach outlined in these workshops, but his approach is both optimistic and positive, and it shortens the gap between the way things are and the way we would like them to be.